User guide

2
Introduction
Congratulations on acquiring the Manx Gigmate v2 synthesizer.
Back in the early days of synthesizers, even the most basic of instruments cost a fortune to buy and thus ownership
was limited to professional musicians and only the most dedicated of enthusiasts. From time to time, manufacturers
tried to capture a greater market by producing somewhat cheaper models. These usually offered reduced functionality
compared to their more expensive professional cousins, but, unlike other types of instruments, the sound quality of
early budget synthesizers was often barley compromised at all.
One of the earliest examples of such a budget synthesizer was manufactured by a leading synthesizer company but
marketed by a high profile electronics retail chain. This approach proved to be a good move with many units sold.
However, the extensive popularity of this instrument was probably mainly due to the fact that besides having a great
sound, it also offered a really quite extensive set of features, such as two oscillators, sample & hold and a polyphonic
section. Manx brings you a loose recreation of this classic 70’s synthesizer and we believe that even in 2014, this is a
really cool instrument to have in your arsenal.
Manx Synthesizers originally started out as a vehicle to test out novel oscillator designs, whilst looking into
the possibility of providing digital oscillators with more ‘grunt’.
These designs share much ‘DNA’ with what lies under the hood of Manx instruments today. However, we
subsequently shifted our attention onto the filter and envelope sections.
For version 2 we have totally redesigned the envelope and filter sections; control systems (such as the
‘auto env trigger’) have been improved upon and the patch library has been completely updated to accommodate
the version 2’s new dynamics
For patches which feature an open filter and bland EG settings, the Gigmate v2 does sound similar to its predecessor,
the original Manx Gigmate. However, patches with significant filtering and bold EG settings are probably the most
commonly used synth sounds out there; and these are a kind of sounds in which the Gigmate v2 can now be of
significant value.
General features
Monosynth with Polyphonic ‘string’ section.
Midi Learn for all parameters; Patch memory system with full library.
Sample & Hold , Ring Modulation, Osc sync, audio frequency LFO, and more.....
( The Gigmate v2 has no on - board effects - its output is mono.)
Please note that if you are new to synthesis, parts of this user guide may appear to be ‘a bit heavy’.
Don’t worry, once you start turning knobs and flicking switches on the Gigmate v2, it will all start to
make sense.
3 Getting Started